This invention relates to a novel steroid formulation.
It has for many years been known to administer various steroids by a variety of routes including the oral route. To this end a wide variety of oral formulations have been suggested, but in practice the formulation most commonly used is a tablet, which may or may not be scored to assist in breaking it in half. Tablets however suffer from the disadvantage that they provide a fixed and inflexible dose of the steroid. While this may be quite acceptable or even desirable when treating adults it represents a considerable problem to the physician when treating children. Clearly in any population of children aged say under 10 there will be very considerable variations in body weight and thus very considerable variations in the amount of the steroid which it is desired to administer. With all drugs it is desirable not to administer an excessive dose, but when steroids, which can have growth retarding effects, are administered to growing children overdosing is particularly dangerous.
Liquid formulations of long acting steroids are known and orally administrated, but a large number of these comprise suspensions of the drug in the liquid vehicle, or are aqueous alcoholic solutions. Suspensions however suffer from the disadvantage that on storage and with the passage of time they tend to settle out and thus give a variable dosage when different levels in the container are used. Aqueous alcoholic solutions are particularly problematic when treating children or patients who either have adverse reactions to alcohol or who are taking drugs which react adversely with alcohol.